April 27, 2012
- Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway have been made.
Pole sitter #55-Martin chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #99-Edwards took pit stall 17, the next pitstall with an opening in front of it.
#29-Harvick, who starts 3rd took the 30th pit stall, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #51-Busch, who starts 13th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-27-2012) - Martin wins pole at Richmond: #55-Mark Martin won the pole for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 128.327mph for his 2nd pole of 2012, 53rd career pole. #99-Edwards was 2nd fastest followed by #29-Harvick, #22-Allmendinger, #18-Busch, #24-Gordon, #11-Hamlin, #56-Truex, Jr., #5-Kahne, and #88-Earnhardt Jr.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #98-McDowell, #26-Wise, #30-Stremme, #87-Nemechek, #95-Speed, #19-Bliss, #33-Leicht, #74-Whitt.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (2):#23-Riggs & #49-Yeley.
See qualifying results, order, pole progression, go-or-go homers & starting lineup on the Richmond Lineup / Qualifying Page.(4-27-2012) - Qualifying Fast Facts – Richmond International Raceway:
Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 58th Annual Capital City 400 Presented By Virginia Is For Lovers with a lap of 21.040 seconds, 128.327 mph.
This is his 53rd pole in 837 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and fifth top-10 start in 2012.
This is his fifth pole in 53 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Mark Martin breaks his previous record as oldest Coors Light Pole winner at Richmond (53 years, 3 months, 19 days).
Carl Edwards (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2012 and his 10th in 16 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Kevin Harvick (third) posted his eighth top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his sixth in nine races this season. (NASCAR Statistics)(4-27-2012) - Happy Hour Practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond Interational Raceway is over after 45 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest and notes:
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 123.853
#99-Edwards 123.706
#83-Cassill 123.209
#24-Gordon 123.113
#18-Busch 122.783
slowest: #49-Yeley 119.607 & #32-Sorenson 118.775.
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages, laps run and more on the Richmond Happy Hour Practice Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf’s. (4-27-2012) - Go-or-Go Homers practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
the final practice rank for the go-or-go homers (drivers not in the top 35 of current owners points)
These drivers would make the race if things stay the same:
#98-Michael McDowell, 7th fastest overall
#87-Joe Nemechek, 9th
#23-Scott Riggs, 16th
#26-Josh Wise, 17th
#19-Mike Bliss, 23rd
#95-Scott Speed, 24th
#30-David Stremme, 28th
#74-Cole Whitt, 35th
These drivers would miss the race if things stay the same:
#33-Stephen Leicht, 39th
#49-J.J. Yeley, 45th/last
(4-27-2012) - Qualifying Order for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is posted. 45 cars/drivers are listed.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #33-Leicht, slowest in practice.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #55-Martin, who was fastest in first practice.
Qualifying order is set by the first practice session, with slowest driver going out by speed and the fastest going out last. The non-top 35 drivers are now mixed in with the top-35 in owners points, slowest to fastest.
See the full qualifying order on the Richmond Qualifying Page.(4-27-2012) - 1st Friday Practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 120 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest and notes:
#55-Martin 126.707
#16-Biffle 126.186
#27-Menard 126.139
#15-Bowyer 126.133
#20-Logano 125.997
slowest: #33-Leicht 121.425 & #32-Sorenson 121.425.
notes: #48-Johnson made slight contact with the outisde wall on his first laps of the session. Only minor sheetmetal damage. #27-Menard hit the wall coming off turn 4 when his throttle broke. He will have to go to a backup car. #29-Harvick’s team will change the transmission on his engine after it stuck in second gear.
This practice will set the order for qualifying this afternoon at 5:35pm/et on SPEED.
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages, laps run and more on the Richmond 1st Practice Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf’s. (4-27-2012) - Go-or-Go Homers practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
the first practice rank for the go-or-go homers (drivers not in the top 35 of current owners points)
These drivers would make the race if things stay the same:
#19-Mike Bliss, 21st fastest overall
#87-Joe Nemechek, 24th
#26-Josh Wise, 27th
#23-Scott Riggs, 32nd
#98-Michael McDowell, 34th
#30-David Stremme, 36th
#74-Cole Whitt, 38th
#95-Scott Speed, 39th
These drivers would miss the race if things stay the same:
#49-J.J. Yeley, 42nd
#33-Stephen Leicht, 44th
(4-27-2012) - Final Kansas TV Ratings: FOX posted a 4.3/10 (6.8 million viewers) on Sunday for the STP 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from Kansas Speedway. Though that’s down -17% from last year’s 5.2/13 (9.0 million) for the race from Talladega, it’s up +10% over last year’s 3.9/10 (6.3 million) Kansas race which aired later in the season [June 6, 2011]. Sunday’s 4.3/10 also ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched event of the weekend. Through eight races, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX is averaging a 5.2/11 (8.6 million viewers). See past 2012 races, four-year comparion chart and more on the 2012 TV Ratings page.(4-27-2012)
- New NASCAR team to be fielded by Barry Dodson: Barry Dodson has been absent from the NASCAR spotlight for many years but, on Thursday [April 26th] he announced his plan to return with a new team and a new mission. Dodson has been a winner at all levels of NASCAR competition and holds the 1989 Cup Series Crew Chief Championship title [when Rusty Wallace won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship]. However, after tragedy struck his family in 1994, Dodson realized that winning at NASCAR’s premier level didn’t seem as important in his life as it once had. Slowly he disappeared from the NASCAR weekly scene and set a course to get his life straightened out and back on track. Sure, he maintained his connections in the NASCAR community and had many offers to return, but declined to make a comeback until now. Dodson has decided to join forces with Free Pennington and his Free American Racing team out of Augusta, Georgia. “For us to come together in this way is a dream come true for me,” commented Pennington. “Barry is one of my heroes and to think that I could drive for him is such a blessing to me.”
So, what are the plans for this new team going forward? Pennington says, “Barry Dodson is the leader of this team and is controlling where we go from here. We plan to run 2 to 3 Truck Races and 2 to 3 Nationwide Races in 2012. We’re looking for some additional sponsorship now to determine where we go after that. Barry’s put the deal together and our mission is to take Driven Ministries and plant some seeds at these race tracks.”(more at Victory Lane on Fox54)(4-27-2012) - Ford Unveils Historic All-New Focus Electric Pace Car for Richmond: After being unveiled in a public ceremony at the Virginia State Capitol, the 2012 Focus Electric pace cars are ready for their historic race weekend when they become the first all-electric vehicles to pace a NASCAR Sprint Cup event. The two Focus Electric vehicles will perform all pace car duties for the Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. The two cars were unveiled by Eric Kuehn, chief nameplate engineer, Ford Global Electrified Programs; Mike Lynch, NASCAR’s managing director of Green Innovation; and Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. Production of the Focus Electric began in December at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich.(Ford), see image of the pace car on my 2012 Pace Car page.(4-27-2012)
- Earnhardt Jr., Kahne and Stewart to guest on The Cleveland Show: NASCAR stars #88-Dale Earnhart Jr., #5-Kasey Kahne and #14-Tony Stewart will guest-voice on Fox’s The Cleveland Show next season. In the episode, Cleveland (voiced Mike Henry) convinces Donna (voiced Sanaa Lathan) to lighten up and have a few drinks when she takes her run for local office way too seriously. “Unfortunately, they party way too hard – and wake up on the infield of a NASCAR track. It’s up to guest stars Earnhardt, Jr., Stewart and Kahne to race Donna and Cleveland home,” executive producer Rich Appel says.(TV Guide)(4-27-2012)
- “Pin It Forward” Campaign To Kick Off 2012 NASCAR Day Celebration: NASCAR Day, an annual celebration of NASCAR’s fans, charities and spirit, will have extra incentive for fans to share their passion for the sport and make a difference in the lives of children this year. The ninth celebration of NASCAR Day on Friday, May 18th will encourage fans to join The NASCAR Foundation’s initiative in the “Pin It Forward” campaign (NASCAR). For more info and links, go to my NASCAR Racing Charities page.(4-27-2012)
- Chassis selections for this weeks race: see the list of many teams [that report or post these] and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Richmond International Speedway on the Richmond Race Info page – Chassis selection area.
- Nationwide Series autograph session and ARCA Fan Walk Friday at Talladega: Two great additions to the 2012 Aaron’s Dream Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway have just been announced for Friday, May 4th. To kick off the weekend fans will be treated to the ARCA Fan Walk from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a NASCAR Nationwide Series autograph session from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Fan Walk, which returns to the garages of Talladega Superspeedway prior to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, is a unique experience for infield guests, giving them unparalleled access to the action that precedes the start of the race. That same day, the stars of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312 will be out signing autographs for the fans. This face-to-face encounter with the veteran drivers and up-and-comers of the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be a memorable event for all fans. The Fan Walk will be held in the ARCA garage and is open to all infield guests. Free tram service will move guests in and out of the ARCA garage area. The NASCAR Nationwide Series autograph session will be held on the concourse area behind the OV Hill South grandstand sections D & E. Wristbands for the autograph session can be picked up for free from the Guest Services Office located at OV Hill South Grandstand, Section L. (TSS)(4-27-2012)
- New NASCAR team to be fielded by Barry Dodson: Barry Dodson has been absent from the NASCAR spotlight for many years but, on Thursday [April 26th] he announced his plan to return with a new team and a new mission. Dodson has been a winner at all levels of NASCAR competition and holds the 1989 Cup Series Crew Chief Championship title [when Rusty Wallace won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship]. However, after tragedy struck his family in 1994, Dodson realized that winning at NASCAR’s premier level didn’t seem as important in his life as it once had. Slowly he disappeared from the NASCAR weekly scene and set a course to get his life straightened out and back on track. Sure, he maintained his connections in the NASCAR community and had many offers to return, but declined to make a comeback until now. Dodson has decided to join forces with Free Pennington and his Free American Racing team out of Augusta, Georgia. “For us to come together in this way is a dream come true for me,” commented Pennington. “Barry is one of my heroes and to think that I could drive for him is such a blessing to me.”
So, what are the plans for this new team going forward? Pennington says, “Barry Dodson is the leader of this team and is controlling where we go from here. We plan to run 2 to 3 Truck Races and 2 to 3 Nationwide Races in 2012. We’re looking for some additional sponsorship now to determine where we go after that. Barry’s put the deal together and our mission is to take Driven Ministries and plant some seeds at these race tracks.”(more at Victory Lane on Fox54)(4-27-2012)
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